Finn Balor brought The Demon back on the Oct. 30 edition of WWE SmackDown, and Gunther took the punishment in Charleston, West Virginia. The face-painted alter ego answered an attack on Danhausen, who hosted the Halloween episode. The segment came after two months of run-ins among the three men. None of those nights produced a singles match between Balor and Gunther. The last one came on the July 29, 2024, edition of Raw, when the latter won with a Sleeper.
How Gunther Got Caught Between Balor And Danhausen
Gunther’s wins over the past year include John Cena’s final match on Dec. 13, 2025, and AJ Styles’ retirement match at the 2026 Royal Rumble. Balor, Gunther, and Kevin Owens met in a No. 1 contender’s match on the Aug. 28 SmackDown. Sami Zayn yanked Balor out of the ring during a cover after a Coup de Grace, then attacked the referee to force a no contest. Zayn then hit all three men, plus CM Punk, with the WWE Championship belt.
Gunther first crossed paths with Danhausen that same night, walking in on a meeting between Danhausen and SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis. On the Sept. 11 SmackDown, Aldis steered Balor toward Money in the Bank rather than a title shot. Gunther cut in and claimed Balor had not mattered in a decade. Balor answered with a punch to the face, and Aldis had to step in.
Punk, Gunther, and Balor met in a Money in the Bank qualifier on Sept. 25. Balor’s Coup de Grace broke up a Sleeper that Gunther had locked on Punk, who rolled over and pinned him. The loss kept both Gunther and Balor out of the ladder match.
Balor went after Zayn during a promo on the Oct. 2 SmackDown, and Gunther then attacked both men near the stage. Later in the show, Danhausen tested a new device that scans for evil. The device found it in Gunther, who tossed Danhausen across a hallway.
WWE booked Gunther against Danhausen for the Oct. 9 SmackDown, but the match never officially started. Danhausen tried to stop the referee from calling for the bell, then cursed his opponent and took a boot to the face. The beating continued until Balor ran in to make the save.
On the Oct. 16 SmackDown, Danhausen impersonated Aldis and fooled Gunther. In unaired footage released after the Oct. 23 SmackDown, Gunther promised to make the Halloween episode special for Danhausen. No match against Balor was advertised for that episode, and the Crown Jewel card for Nov. 7 in Riyadh does not include the pairing either.
Danhausen planned to unveil an evil experiment during the Oct. 30 show. Gunther interrupted the reveal with an attack, then fought off a group of Minihausens and stayed on Danhausen. The SmackDown results on WWE.com credited Danhausen with conjuring The Demon, who took over from there. Balor drove Gunther through a table, then hit a Coup de Grace off a ladder through the announce desk.
End Of My Gunther Rant
Two months of this feud gave Gunther a comedy act to manhandle and a rival who kept getting cut off. Zayn wrecked the Aug. 28 match. Punk stole the Sept. 25 pin. Scanners, curses, and an Aldis impersonation filled the gaps. Gunther spent October beating up Danhausen whenever the two crossed paths.
The Demon changes that. Balor finally has a side that Gunther cannot bully, and the Halloween segment gave the feud something no backstage skit could: menace. Danhausen even gets to stay in the story, since the curse landed. Gunther brushed off every hex for two months. Charleston made the announce desk a believer.
Now WWE has to follow through. A Demon return without a singles match is a sugar rush and nothing more. Gunther vs. The Demon belongs on a big stage with no Zayn, no Punk, and no interruptions. Crown Jewel’s four-match card has room for one more. Book it, and the whole slow build suddenly looks like a plan.
